The ongoing lockdown has forced many of us to alter the way we go about our daily routine. Chennaites share tales of the changes they have made to adapt to the new ‘normal’ of living and working with limited interaction
Souwmya Lakshminarayanan (32), Owner of a private firm
Chennai:
For the past year, I have been working from home. I started an organisation last year, but office space is scarce. The working part itself was not so new for me. Home for me was a place where I could unwind and relax without worrying about work. It was my space. Working from home has sort of encroached on that space. It became a little confusing because I was working all the time from home. Then, I read up some suggestions online on how to make work from home more realistic.
Things like dressing up for work rather than staying in home clothes. That change was important because it denoted the line between home and work. I take small breaks in between to relax. It’s been more than 12 years since I have been away from my parents. Just before the lockdown, they came down to Chennai. After a long time, the three of us are in the same place. We play games, allot time to spend with each other. It’s one thing with we do regularly. We have also started making traditional dishes like pickles. We bought the materials and have been making the dishes in the mornings. Along with my mom, we have been waiting to make cooking interesting. We try to avoid stepping out too much by innovating with the materials we have. For me, research gives a lot of energy.
Over the past few years, much of my time and energy was consumed with the executive parts of the work. Now that I have more time because of the lockdown, I have been researching the issue. It can be emotionally taxing to see the numbers. The numbers globally were also very worrying. But when I read about the research side of the virus, the thought of the science that is supporting us gave me a lot of energy. From a standpoint of exploring and enriching your mind, it changed the lens through which I looked at it -- from frustrated and emotional to something calmer. I’m not sure if I’ve been able to process the deaths and the collateral damage of the virus yet. But I know that when I stay anxious, I’ll not be able to cope. Only when I move away from that space will I be able to engage with it in a better way.